They have no idea that it has awakened a giant who has lain at rest for centuries. Thank you Mr Gordon, wherever you may be. First published in 1968, THE GIANT UNDER THE SNOW created a fascinating world of magic, ancient evil and curses long before Harry Potter and His Dark Materials.Three children find an ornate Celtic buckle.
If you haven’t read this book, do yourself a favour and read it – if you have read it, treat yourself and re-read it. Having grown up in Norwich during the 70s, I find myself matching the city Mr Gordon describes with the one I knew, from the old City walls, the Cathedral, the Castle and the market, to King Street with the then derelict warehouses lying between it and the black River Wensum. Mr Gordon, who worked as an editor for the Eastern Evening News and has a reporter’s eye for telling detail, is particularly good at recreating the bleakness of (what I imagine to be) 1960s Norwich and the Brecklands in winter. I know it is not a hugely complex plot and there’s very little back story (except for the giant) – but it is just so well woven that the writing itself seems magical, conjuring up dark swirling images in the mind with the barest of descriptions. It’s almost a short story, tightly plotted, fast paced, deliciously scary, and with neatly crafted characters, particularly the wonderful Elizabeth Goodenough. Some 40 years later, over Christmas (the wintry theme makes it perfect for those dark days), I took a few hours to re-read it and I came away thinking it must still be one of the best children’s books ever written. I still have the battered paperback copy from my childhood (along with my copies of Snow Cloud, Stallion and Shane, which is the best Western ever). I first read ‘The giant under the snow’ (which was published in 1968) when I was a child of about 7 and I loved it.
0 kommentar(er)
